Biomass-derived porous carbon based molecularly imprinted polymers with multi-boronic acid sites for capture of ribavirin from water samples

Ribavirin (RBV) is a broad-spectrum antiviral agent with proven clinical efficacy. Improper RBV disposal however may cause substantial ecosystem contamination and human health hazards, attributable to its confirmed developmental toxicity. Consequently, operationally simple RBV extraction strategies urgently needed for environmental waters. In this work, leveraging the superior chemical durability, extensive active surface area, and eco-friendly nature of biomass-activated carbon (BAC), a novel molecularly imprinted polymer (PC@PEI/PBA/MIPs) was engineered through dopamine-mediated surface polymerization using rapeseed pollen carbon (PC) as the substrate, specifically designed for selective RBV separation. Furthermore, branched polyethyleneimine (PEI) was covalently grafted onto the porous carbon surface to add the density of boronic acid groups, resulting in a high density of recognition sites in a mild environment. The adsorption experiments show that PC@PEI/PBA/MIPs has a significant binding efficiency (158.03 mg /g) for RBV, and can quickly reach the adsorption equilibrium time within 60 min, with good selectivity and regeneration performance. Finally, PC@PEI/PBA/MIPs were used to capture RBV from real water samples, achieving > 80% recovery efficiency. The prepared PC@PEI/PBA/MIPs plays a decisive role in the separation and enrichment of RBV in complex systems.